Laser current calibration under id crash stop compression area for blank disk self-servo write

A disk drive, comprising:

• a magnetic head that includes a laser;
• a rotating magnetic recording medium associated with the magnetic head;
• and
• a controller configured to perform the steps of:
• moving the magnetic head above a target write region at an inner diameter region of the rotating magnetic recording medium;
• selecting a current value for the laser;
• writing a test servo pattern on the target write region using the magnetic head while irradiating the target write region with the laser operating at the selected current value;
• determining that the test servo pattern meets a quality threshold;
• and
• outputting the selected current value to be the current value to be used by the laser during heat-assisted magnetic recording of one or more servo patterns on the rotating magnetic recording medium,
• wherein the test servo pattern comprises a servo spiral, and the servo spiral extends from an inner-diameter border of the target write region to a border of a user region of the rotating magnetic recording medium.

A computer-implemented method of setting an operating current of a laser that is used in heat-assisted magnetic recording, said method comprising:

• moving a magnetic head above a target write region at an inner diameter region of a rotating magnetic recording medium;
• selecting a current value for the laser;
• writing a test servo pattern on the target write region using the magnetic head while irradiating the target write region with the laser operating at the selected current value;
• determining that the test servo pattern meets a quality threshold;
• and
• outputting the selected current value to be the current value to be used by the laser during heat-assisted magnetic recording of one or more servo patterns on the rotating magnetic recording medium,
• wherein the inner diameter region corresponds to a radial position of the magnetic head during compression of an elastomeric surface of a crash stop by a voice coil housing of a voice-coil motor of the disk drive.